TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of March 5, 2006

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THE DA VINCI CODE
Dan Brown
Cover of THE DA VINCI CODE

THE DA VINCI CODE

by Dan Brown · Doubleday

152 wks on list

THE #1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLING PHENOMENON, WITH MORE THAN 85 MILLION COPIES SOLD “Blockbuster perfection . . . a gleefully erudite suspense novel.” —The New York Times “A pulse-quickening, brain-teasing adventure.” —People While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever. Robert Langdon returns in The Lost Symbol, Inferno, Origin, and The Secret of Secrets (coming soon)!

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THE LAST TEMPLAR
Raymond Khoury
Cover of THE LAST TEMPLAR

THE LAST TEMPLAR

by Raymond Khoury · Dutton

5 wks on list

The first thrilling novel in Raymond Khoury’s New York Times bestselling Templar series. In 1291, a young Templar knight flees the fallen holy land in a hail of fire and flashing sword, setting out to sea with a mysterious chest entrusted to him by the Order's dying grand master. The ship vanishes without a trace. In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights stage a bloody raid on the Metropolitan Museum of Art during an exhibit of Vatican treasures. Emerging with a strange geared device, they disappear into the night. The investigation that follows draws archaeologist Tess Chaykin and FBI agent Sean Reilly into the dark, hidden history of the crusading knights—and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers—as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars.

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SEA CHANGE
Robert B. Parker
Cover of SEA CHANGE

SEA CHANGE

by Robert B. Parker · Putnam

2 wks on list

Jesse Stone investigates the murder of heiress Florence Horvath after her body washes ashore in Paradise, Massachusetts.

6
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IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN
Sarah Dunant
Cover of IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN

IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN

by Sarah Dunant · Random House

1 wks on list

1527. While the Papal city of Rome burns, two of her most interesting and wily citizens slip away. Though almost as damaged as their beloved city, Fiammetta Bianchini and Bucino Teodoldi - a fabulous courtesan and her dwarf companion - are already planning their future. They head for the shimmering beauty of Venice, a honey pot of wealth and trade where they start to rebuild their business. As a partnership they are invincible: Bucino, clever with a sharp eye and a wicked tongue and Fiammetta, beautiful and shrewd, trained from birth to charm, entertain and satisfy men who have the money to support her. Venice, however, is a city which holds its own temptations...

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MEMORY IN DEATH
J. D. Robb
Cover of MEMORY IN DEATH

MEMORY IN DEATH

by J. D. Robb · Putnam

4 wks on list

Eve Dallas is one toough cop and has no problem dealing with a holiday reveler in a red suit who plunges 37 stories to his death. Trudy Lombard is at the station and brings back bad memories.

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LOVERS & PLAYERS
Jackie Collins

LOVERS & PLAYERS

by Jackie Collins · St. Martin's

2 wks on list

"Dangerous sex, family secrets, irresistible power, mega money, and two murders equal one reckless week in ""New York".".." In "Lovers & Players" by Jackie Collins, the Diamond family rules. Red Diamond is an abusive and much-loathed billionaire. His three sons, Max, Chris, and Jett, are summoned to New York for a family meeting which rocks their world. Diahann, a beautiful black ex-singer, works as Red's housekeeper--a job her daughter, Liberty, does not approve of. A waitress and would-be singer herself, Liberty has dreams of her own and while she pursues them, Damon P. Donnell, married hip-hop mogul supreme, pursues "her." Young New York heiress Amy Scott-Simon is engaged to marry Max. At her bachelorette party she runs into Jett. Jett has no idea who Amy is. She also doesn't realize who "he" is. A one-night fling leads to major complications. Now the lives of these characters will intertwine, forever changing their destinies, in this highly charged love story about family relationships and deadly choices. "A decadent concoction sure to appeal...a fast lane take on the lives of the rich and fabulous." --"Kirkus Reviews"

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GONE
Lisa Gardner
Cover of GONE

GONE

by Lisa Gardner · Bantam

3 wks on list

From the bestselling author of Alone and The Killing Hour comes a thriller that goes from heartbreaking to heartstopping in the blink of an eye.… When someone you love vanishes without a trace, how far would you go to get them back? For ex-FBI profiler Pierce Quincy, it’s the beginning of his worst nightmare: a car abandoned on a desolate stretch of Oregon highway, engine running, purse on the driver’s seat. And his estranged wife, Rainie Conner, gone, leaving no clue to her fate. Did one of the ghosts from Rainie’s troubled past finally catch up with her? Or could her disappearance be the result of one of the cases they’d been working– a particularly vicious double homicide or the possible abuse of a deeply disturbed child Rainie took too close to heart? Together with his daughter, FBI agent Kimberly Quincy, Pierce is battling the local authorities, racing against time, and frantically searching for answers to all the questions he’s been afraid to ask. One man knows what happened that night. Adopting the alias of a killer caught eighty years before, he has already contacted the press. His terms are clear: he wants money, he wants power, he wants celebrity. And if he doesn’t get what he wants, Rainie will be gone for good. Sometimes, no matter how much you love someone, it’s still not enough. As the clock winds down on a terrifying deadline, Pierce plunges headlong into the most desperate hunt of his life, into the shattering search for a killer, a lethal truth, and for the love of his life, who may forever be…gone.

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MARY, MARY
James Patterson
Cover of MARY, MARY

MARY, MARY

by James Patterson · Little, Brown

14 wks on list

When he investigates the murder of an actress outside of her Beverly Hills home, FBI agent Alex Cross learns that the attack was the latest in a series of celebrity killings linked to the elusive Mary Smith.

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OUTBOUND FLIGHT
Timothy Zahn
Cover of OUTBOUND FLIGHT

OUTBOUND FLIGHT

by Timothy Zahn · Lucas/Del Rey/Ballantine

3 wks on list

It began as the ultimate voyage of discovery only to become the stuff of lost Republic legend and a dark chapter in Jedi history. Zahn returns to tell the whole extraordinary story of the remarkable and doomed Outbound Flight Project.

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THE HOSTAGE
W. E. B. Griffin
Cover of THE HOSTAGE

THE HOSTAGE

by W. E. B. Griffin · Putnam

7 wks on list

W. E. B. Griffin’s #1 New York Times bestselling series finds Presidential Agent Charley Castillo in the middle of an investigation into kidnapping, assassination, and even political scandal in this action-packed thriller. U.S. Army Special Forces Major Charley Castillo is tasked with a discreet mission by the President himself: to investigate the death of an American diplomat in Argentina and the kidnapping of that diplomat’s wife. With the woman’s children and family now at risk, Castillo’s running out of time to uncover the connections and truth behind it all. Amidst threats, murder, and a scandal tying the United Nations to Iraq, there is also a lot of money flying around—and some people will do anything it takes to get their hands on it...

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THE HUNT CLUB
John Lescroart
Cover of THE HUNT CLUB

THE HUNT CLUB

by John Lescroart · Dutton

4 wks on list

At first, The Hunt Club had a membership of one: private investigator Wyatt Hunt. Since then, others have joined with a common interest in obtaining justice. One member, inspector Devin Juhle, has just caught a major case: the shooting of a sixty-three-year old federal judge and his twentysomething mistress... While Juhle works, Hunt plays, hooking up with TV star and legal analyst Andrea Parisi. But before Hunt knows it, Juhle's case will be of great interest to the members of The Hunt Club. Especially to Hunt himself-as Andrea's card is found in the wallet of one of the victims.

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AT FIRST SIGHT
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of AT FIRST SIGHT

AT FIRST SIGHT

by Nicholas Sparks · Warner

There are few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he'd never do: he'd never leave New York City: never give his heart away again after barely surviving one failed marriage: and most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, an unsettling and mysterious message re-opens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will forever change the course of this young couple's marriage...

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.